Renaissance, Medieval

& Pirate Faires

Renaissance Faires

A Renaissance fair, Renaissance faire, or Renaissance festival is an outdoor weekend gathering, usually held in the United States, open to the public and typically commercial in nature, which emulates a historic period for the amusement of its guests. Some are permanent theme parks, others are short-term events in fairgrounds or other large public or private spaces. Renaissance fairs generally include an abundance of costumed entertainers, musical and theatrical acts, art and handicrafts for sale, and festival food. Some even offer camping, for those who wish to stay more than one day. Most Renaissance fairs are set during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Some are set earlier, during the reign of Henry VIII, or in other countries, such as France, and some include broader definitions of the Renaissance which include earlier periods, such as the Vikings, or later, such as 18th Century pirates, and some engage in deliberate "time travel" by encouraging participants to wear costumes representing several eras in a broad time period. Renaissance fairs encourage visitors to enter into the spirit of things with costumes and audience participation. Most tolerate, and many welcome, fantasy elements such as wizards and elves.

elcome to the the Middle Ages Time/Area of Reenactor.Net!

"The Middle Ages" is a term commonly used to designate that period of European history between the fall of the Roman Empire and about the middle of the fifteenth century. The precise dates of the beginning, culmination, and end of the Middle Ages are more or less arbitrarily assumed according to the point of view adopted. The period is usually considered to open with those migrations of the German Tribes which led to the destruction of the Roman Empire in the West in 375, when the Huns fell upon the Gothic tribes north of the Black Sea and forced the Visigoths over the boundaries of the Roman Empire on the lower Danube. A later date, however, is sometimes assumed, viz., when Odoacer deposed Romulus Augustulus, the last of the Roman Emperors of the West, in 476. Others, again, begin the Middle Ages with the opening years of the seventh century and the death (609) of Venantius Fortunatus, the last representative of classic Latin literature. The close of the Middle Ages is also variously fixed; some make it coincide with the rise of Humanism and the Renaissance in Italy, in the fourteenth century; with the fall of Constantinople, in 1453; with the discovery of America by Columbus in 1492; or, again, with the great religious schism of the sixteenth century. Any hard and fast line drawn to designate either the beginning or close of the period in question is arbitrary. The widest limits given, viz., the irruption of the Visigoths over the boundaries of the Roman Empire, for the beginning, and the middle of the sixteenth century, for the close, may be taken as inclusively sufficient, and embrace, beyond dispute, every movement or phase of history that can be claimed as properly belonging to the Middle Ages. (look for more here soon) - (from Catholic Encyclopedia -- a great Resource!)

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Suggested Books Regarding
the Middle Ages and the Renaissance

As you may have guessed, there are an immense number of books on the middle ages. Here are a few. If you don't find what you're looking for here, go to Amazon.com and do a search. Remember, if you link to Amazon through us and order online, we get a small percentage, at no extra cost to you -- this will help keep Reenactor.Net online!

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GENERAL MEDIEVAL / OVERVIEW:

The Civilization of the Middle Ages -- Norman F. Cantor -- Cantor has rewritten about a third of his 1963 classic overview of the Middle Ages in Europe. The new edition incorporates recent research and gives more attention to topics that have become of more concern, such as women's experience, family history, piety and heresy. It will probably remain the standard undergraduate text for many years. Acidic paper.

An Historical Guide to Arms & Armor -- Stephen Bull, Tony North (Editor) -- Bull, English Civil War historian and museum curator, has compiled an evolutionary history of small arms (swords, knives, pistols, and rifles) and armor (helmets and body armor) beginning with the Greco-Roman world and ending with the advent of World War I. The history is supported with over 300 photographs, mostly from works of art and individual pieces in European art museums. The text is authoritative and exhaustive, the first such work on this topic in a century. Some coverage is excellent, the best this reviewer has seen on European arms; there is excellent coverage of helmet evolution and on arms development in the Indian subcontinent. Some coverage is weak, especially on Japanese small arms and the American Civil War. Using this volume as a verbal text to the recently reprinted Weapons (Diagram Group), large libraries would possess the two finest reference works on the history of small arms. This is highly recommended for central branch libraries and academic libraries.

From primitive flint axes to nuclear and biological warfare, Weapons is the most comprehensive one-volume reference to the history of weaponry. Drawing from museums and private collections, this updated edition describes the exact specifications of each piece and places all weapons in the context of their utilization in particular wars and campaigns. 2,500 illustrations.

The Book of the Sword -- by Richard Francis Burton -- Eloquent, exceptionally erudite history of the "Queen of Weapons." Traces sword's origin -- from prehistory to its full growth during early Roman Empire. Discusses earliest weapons of stone, bone, horn and wood as well as variations: sabre, broadsword, cutlass, scimitar and more. Enhanced by nearly 300 excellent line drawings.

The Encyclopedia of the Sword -- Nick Evangelista, William M. Gaugler (Foreword) -- From the gruff, sword-toting swashbucklers of the Middle Ages to modern adventure epics like The Princess Bride, the aura surrounding the sword is one that is both romantic and pragmatic. Thoughts of this weapon bring to mind images of the Knights of the Round Table, Zorro, the Three Musketeers--the things daydreams are made of. Yet, until the publication of this encyclopedia there has never been a comprehensive volume on the subject of the sword. For the first time, readers can locate information on the history of sword types and styles throughout the world, techniques of combat sword use, techniques of fencing and major fencing masters, and so on.

Covers the armies of the states that resisted the Crusaders and superbly illustrated with 1,600 detailed line drawings

David C. Nicolle, in this second volume of his comprehensive study of military weapons and equipment examines the arms and armor actually used by Moslem, Orthodox Christian and Mongol armies. Emphasising the evolution of military technology, fashion and science, this definitive study throws light on Eastern Europe and Asia as old empires decay and new powers emerge.

Arms and Armour of the Crusading Era examines the arms and equipment for each specific power or ethnic group. Conclusions are then linked to hundreds of superbly detailed line drawings based on archaeological evidence, iconography and contemporary accounts.

Arms and Armor : The Cleveland Museum of Art -- Stephen N. Fliegel -- Illustrated with examples of helmets, shields, swords, crossbows, firearms and other items from the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, this volume traces the history of European arms and armour from antiquity to the 18th century. It explores themes such as medieval warfare, tournaments, the process of making and decorating armour, and the Renaissance culture of arms. There is also discussion of various forms of weapons, and the illustrations include paintings, tapestries and engravings which show how the objects were used and worn.

BREWING:

A Sip Through Time - A Collection of Old Brewing Recipes -- Cindy Renfrow; Includes recipes. Would you like to Revel with Athenaeus in a Greek symposium? Imbibe Pliny the Elder's wines and hydromel? Toast the night away with the Menagier of Paris' hypocras? Partake of the mead drunk by Queen Elizabeth I? Delight and impress your friends with an almost endless repertoire of beverages enjoyed by such famous historical figures as Apicius, Sir Kenelme Digby, Ben Franklin, William Penn, and George Washington? NOW YOU CAN! ANNOUNCING! A Sip Through Time, A Collection of Old Brewing Recipes. A single illustrated volume containing over 400 documented historical recipes for ale, beer, mead, metheglin, cider, perry, brandy, liqueurs, distilled waters, hypocras, wines, etc., dating from 1800 B.C. to modern times.

A Sip Through Time also offers: a helpful appendix identifying the over 200 herbs and fruits called for in the recipes; a list of these plants which are also used as dye herbs; an annotated bibliography; an extensive glossary; a complete index; all lavishly illustrated with over 90 beautiful period woodcuts, and much more! A Sip Through Time is a valuable reference tool that you will turn to again and again! This new book is 6" x 9," perfect bound, 335 pages.

Brewing Mead: Wassail! In Mazers of Mead -- Robert Gayre, Charles Papazian (Contributor) -- Mead, an ancient honey-based brew, is without doubt the most intriguing of all fermentables. Some brewers say that its dry Champagne or sweet, smooth, fine-wine taste is the best. For centuries, mead has been the drink of European royalty. It is reputed to be a powerful aphrodisiac. Now you have the opportunity to make some yourself and see. Brewing Mead provides step-by-step recipes for making this tantalising delight. Charlie Papazian shows exactly how ordinary homebrew equipment and ingredients can be used to brew several types of mouth-watering mead. Robert Gayre traces the history of this ancient brew from its roots in mythology, as the liquor of Greek gods, throughout Europe, where it was the forefather of ale and beer as we know them.

COOKBOOKS & FOOD:

The Art of Cookery in the Middle Ages -- Terence Scully -- A compendium on practically all aspects of the art of cooking and dining... Because of the author's familiarity with all aspects of the subject we are offered this rara avis: a book which interests the specialist and the general reader; which allies common sense with scholarship; and which presents the theory and practice of medieval cooking for the scholar and the practitioner... has its place on the shelves of the practical cook as well as on those of the scholar: both can feed on it!

The master cook who worked in the noble kitchens of the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries had to be both practical andknowledgeable. His apprenticeship acquainted him with a range of culinary skills and a wide repertoire of seasonal dishes, but he was also required to understand the inherent qualities of the foodstuffs he handled, as determined by contemporary medical theories, and to know the lean-day strictures of the Church. Research in original manuscript sources makes this a fascinating and authoritative study where little hard fact had previously existed.

Old English:

Beowulf and the Fight at Finnsburgh -- Friedrich Klaeber; Beowulf plus the Finnsburgh fragment in Old English with a glossary to help you translate the text. On back-order at Amazon.com but worth the wait - a must for any Old-English scholar.

Old Norse:

Edda (Everyman Paperback Classics) -- Snorri Sturluson, Anthony Faulkes (translator); the complete Prose Edda, compiled by Snorri Sturluson as a textbook for poets; "the most complete catalog in existence of the mythology of pagan Scandinavia."

The Poetic Edda -- Edda Saemundar, Lee Milton Hollander (translator); some reviewers have said Hollander sacrifices accuracy but tells a good story, and that it is hard to tell what is original and what is Hollander's. However, this book is often used in universities.

Music in the Renaissance -- Howard Mayer Brown, Louise K. Stein; "An overview of music in the 15th and 16th centuries, with emphasis on the contributions of the greatest composers."

British Isles traditional & contemporary folk music:

Battlefield Band is one of my favorites. They've been around for many years, (Alan Reid, the vocalist, is the only remaining original member) but the music never gets stale. Battlefield Band uses synthesizers as well as traditional instruments. One article quoted on Amazon.com calls them "progressive folk." Here are a few good examples:

Osprey Books

And no list of Required Books for the Reenactor's Bookshelf would be complete without a number of Osprey's Men at Arms {also Warrior, Elite, Vanguard, Essential Histories, etc. We need to do a search on Osprey site} series. These short books include well-researched information, pictures of artwork from the period, and a number of illustrations focusing on costume. I believe the Warrior series focuses on the soldier, the Campaign series focuses on a battle or campaign, and Elite provides information on uniforms and insignia. If you're having trouble finding what you want here or on Amazon.com's page, you can always surf over to Osprey Publishing's page, find the ISBN, then order from Amazon.com. I'll try to organize these chronologically: